最純潔、最神圣的感覺，是那些在我們孤獨、平靜時在心底所感受到的。這些感覺，不在乎任何人的賞識，也不去迎合任何一種需求。它們，就是我們的一部分。

原諒你的敵人，是一種甜蜜的樂趣。畢竟，你的尊嚴和道德在此時戰(zhàn)勝了對手。沒有什么東西比對手的原諒更能摧垮一個邪惡的人了。

如果一個你深愛的人犯下了傷害你的錯誤，讓你失望，踐踏了你的心，那就是另外一碼事了。你怎么能夠原諒他呢？然而，原諒卻可以減輕已經(jīng)造成的傷害，而你需要做的，僅僅是，寬恕。

當你真正想要的是讓傷害你的人內(nèi)疚，讓他們知道任何愧疚都無法彌補他們的過錯時，你就是在懲罰他們，即使是以毀掉你自己為代價。

痛苦是一種?。晃ㄒ坏闹斡椒ň褪窃?。但是，并不是每個人都有勇氣去喚起內(nèi)心的力量來作出這一壯舉。

因此，我建議你，為了預防這種需要你諒解的事件發(fā)生，如果真的感到受傷，你要在一開始就坦白而誠實地說出你的感受，而不要等到那些傷害開始潰爛以后才讓對方知道。

另一個安全的措施，就是要確保你的任何語言和行為都不要成為滋養(yǎng)這種危險的、深至于心的怨恨生長的溫床。

對原諒的需要，如同缺乏原諒一樣，都會讓關(guān)系終結(jié)。

Ireland, 2000: The national conscience has been shattered by revel-ations of the ill-treatment of children in religious institutions.

Inconceivable but true: the most vulnerable members of our society, who, for a variety of reasons, did not receive their rightful share of love, care and protection, were incarcerated in homes, stripped of identity, left to starve and suffer, prey to predators who abused them.

The authorities knew about their plight but did little to relieve it. Why should anybody care about children of no consequence  They did not even have a vote!

The knowledge is disturbing but eased by the excuse that it all happened a long time ago. Thankfully, things have changed.

Nowadays, the most vulnerable members of our society, who, for a variety of reasons, do not receive their rightful share of love, care and protection, are sent out into the streets, stripped of identity, left to starve and suffer, prey to predators who abuse them.

The authorities know about their plight but do little to relieve it. Why should anybody care about children of no consequence  They do not even have a vote!

It will take more than a public outcry to change the way decision-makers feel about those wretches whose welfare depends on them.

A Connemara hotelier wrote a furious letter to the County Manager complaining that, in his area, renowned for outstanding natural beauty, major road repairs were consistently carried out in the height of the tourist season. If this wasn’t sabotage, he growled, it was an example of extreme professional insensitivity.

The County Engineer replied, politely and regretfully, explaining that, given the Irish climate,they had no option but to repair the roads in summer, as otherwise the tar wouldn’t set.

The hotel owner laughed when he told the story. “Years of anger and frustration ? and all due to my own ignorance!”

I was reminded of a man I knew, whose childhood had been overshadowed by the fact that, aged eight, he had been dispatched to relatives in the country, while his mother underwent treatment for cancer. To spare the boy, nothing was said about the cause for his removal.

He suffered through many weeks, assuming that he must have done something terrible to forfeit the right to his home and to his parents’ love. Even after he grew up and got his facts straight, the feeling of rejection persisted.

It’s staggering to think that, even as we speak, countless lives and relationships are being ruined by virulent, destructive feelings generated by pure misconceptions.